(Yicai Global) April 17 --Chinese health authority said today that it received reports of 26 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland yesterday, of which 15 were imported.

The other 11 new cases were domestically transmitted, the National Health Commission said in a daily report, noting that five cases were reported in Guangdong Province, three in Heilongjiang Province, two in Shandong Province and one in Liaoning Province.

No death was reported yesterday on the mainland. Three new suspected cases, all domestic ones, were also reported, with two in Heilongjiang Province and one in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

According to the commission, 52 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery yesterday, while the number of severe cases decreased by 6 to 89.

As of yesterday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,549 imported cases. Of the cases, 670 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, 879 were being treated with 45 in severe condition, said the commission.

No death from the imported cases had been reported, it added.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,367 by Thursday, including 1,081 patients who were still being treated, 77,944 people who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,342 people who died of the disease, the commission said.

The commission said that 62 people, including 57 from abroad, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

It added that 8,970 close contacts were still under medical observation. Yesterday, 412 people were discharged from medical observation.

Also on the same day, 66 new asymptomatic cases, including three from abroad, were reported on the mainland. A total of 10 asymptomatic cases, of which six were imported, were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 50 were discharged from medical observation including eight imported cases, according to the commission.

The commission said 1,038 asymptomatic cases, including 206 from abroad, were still under medical observation.

By yesterday, 1,017 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 395 in Taiwan including six deaths.

A total of 485 patients in Hong Kong, 16 in Macao and 155 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Editor: Chen Juan